Can Universal SEL Programs Benefit Universally? Effects of the Positive Action Program on Multiple Trajectories of Social-Emotional and Misconduct Behaviors

Effective Components of Social Emotional Learning Programs: A Meta-analysis

Previous reviews have synthesized the impacts of universal school-based social emotional learning (SEL) programs. However, they have yet to attempt a meta-analytic approach with rigorous inclusion criteria to identify the key SEL components and explore what make these programs work. This study aims to fill that gap by examining the impacts of SEL programs and exploring the moderating effects of methodological characteristics, implementation features, and program components on SEL effectiveness. The final sample consisted of 12 high-quality SEL programs, 59 studies, and 83,233 participants, with an overall effect size of 0.15. Meta-regression results indicated that these SEL programs could significantly improve youth social emotional skills, reinforce affect and attitudes, promote academic performance, increase prosocial behaviors, and reduce antisocial behaviors. Training teachers' social emotional skills and reducing cognitive elements in SEL curricula were found to be effective components of SEL programs, whereas pedagogical activities, climate support, and family engagement were not. Large-scale studies of SEL programs tended to generate smaller effect sizes, and those with low program dosages were found to be less effective than those approaching the recommended dosage. Policy and practical implications on how to scale SEL programs are discussed.

Whole-school interventions promoting student commitment to school to prevent substance use and violence, and improve educational attainment: a systematic review

Background

Whole-school interventions modify the school environment to promote health. A subset of these interventions promotes student commitment to school to prevent substance (tobacco, alcohol, other drugs) use and/or violence. A previous review identified the theory of human functioning and school organisation as a comprehensive theory of such interventions, and found evidence that these interventions reduce substance use and/or violence.

Objectives

The objectives were to search for, appraise and synthesise evidence to address the following questions: (1) What whole-school interventions promoting student commitment to school to prevent substance use and/or violence have been evaluated, what intervention subtypes are apparent and how closely do these align with the theory of human functioning and school organisation? (2) What factors relating to setting, population and intervention affect implementation? (3) What are the effects on student substance use, violence and educational attainment? (4) What is the cost-effectiveness of such interventions? (5) Are intervention effects mediated by student commitment to school or moderated by setting or population?

Data sources

A total of 56 information sources were searched (in January 2020), then an updated search of 48 of these was carried out (in May 2021). Reference lists were also searched and experts were contacted.

Review methods

Eligible studies were process/outcome evaluations of whole-school interventions to reduce student violence or substance use among students aged 5-18 years attending schools, via actions aligning with the theory of human functioning and school organisation: modifying teaching to increase engagement, enhancing student-staff relationships, revising school policies, encouraging volunteering or increasing parental involvement. Data extraction and quality assessments used existing tools. Theory and process reports were synthesised qualitatively. Outcome and economic data were synthesised narratively; outcome data were meta-analysed.

Results

Searches retrieved 63 eligible reports on 27 studies of 22 interventions. We identified four intervention subtypes focused on student participation in school-wide decisions, improving staff-student relationships, increasing engagement in learning and involving parents. The theories of change of most intervention subtypes aligned closely with the theory of human functioning and school organisation, and informed refinement of an intervention theory of change. Theories of change for interventions increasing learning engagement did not align with this theory, aiming instead to increase school commitment primarily via social skills curricula. Factors influencing the implementation included whether or not interventions were tailorable, workable and well explained. Interventions with action groups comprising staff/students, etc. and providing local data were well implemented. Implementation was also affected by whether or not schools accepted the need for change and staff had the resources for delivery. Meta-analyses suggest small, but significant, intervention effects in preventing violence victimisation and perpetration, and substance use. There was sparse and inconsistent evidence of moderation and some evidence of mediation by student commitment to school. Two economic evaluations suggested that there is the potential for the interventions to be cost-effective.

Limitations

The quality of the studies was variable and the economic synthesis was limited to two studies.

Conclusions

Whole-school interventions aiming to promote student commitment to school share similar theories of change and factors affecting implementation. They have the potential to contribute to preventing violence and substance use among young people. Future trials should aim to optimise intervention effectiveness by better theorisation, and assess implementation and effect moderators and mediators.

Study registration

This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42019154334.

Funding

This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme (NIHR award ref: 17/151/05) and is published in full in Public Health Research; Vol. 12, No. 2. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

Universal School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) for Diverse Student Subgroups: Implications for Enhancing Equity Through SEL

School-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) has been widely practiced and promoted as a promising approach to prevent youth mental, emotional, and behavioral problems. Although prior research has accumulated robust evidence of the average effects of universal SEL, it remains unclear whether it works similarly or differentially across diverse sociocultural subgroups of students. Investigating subgroup effects has implications for understanding the impact of universal SEL on possible subgroup disparities in student social-emotional competence (SEC). This study examined whether the effects of a universal SEL program on student SEC development differed across diverse student subgroups classified by gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability status, and English learner status. Data came from student SEC progress monitoring collected during a 1-year quasi-experimental study of a universal SEL program (N = 1592; Grades K-2). The results of multigroup latent growth modeling suggest that (a) the intervention effects were slightly larger for Black students, compared to White or other racial-ethnic subgroups, and (b) the effects were not different across other examined subgroups. This study also found that in the comparison condition, the SEC disparities between Black and White students tended to widen throughout the year, whereas in the intervention condition, Black students showed a similar rate of growth as their White peers. Findings suggest that universal SEL may be similarly beneficial across many diverse student subgroups, while it may yield larger benefits among some racially marginalized subgroups, preventing racial disparities from further widening. Yet the benefits of SEL may not be sufficient to reduce existing subgroup disparities. These findings suggest a need for more studies to examine differential effects of universal preventive programs by diverse subgroups to better inform practices that enhance equity in youth outcomes.

Bidirectional relationships between parenting stress and child behavior problems in multi-stressed, single-mother families: A cross-lagged panel model

Investigations on the bidirectional relationships between parenting stress and child behavior problems are important to inform intervention strategies; however, prior research has provided inconsistent findings. Using a national sample of multi-stressed single-mother families from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study, the present study examined the bidirectional relationships between maternal parenting stress and children's behavioral problems spanning from early childhood through adolescence at the child's ages 3, 5, 9, and 15. Reciprocal transactions were found between parenting stress and behavior problems in early childhood between the ages 3 and 5. From age 5 to age 15, our findings also suggest that children's behavior problems at an earlier time point predict mothers' parenting stress at a later time point. Unexpectedly, the lagged effects of parenting stress on child behavior problems in school ages were not significant in our sampled data. Early childhood interventions should address mitigating both parenting stress and their toddlers' behavior problems. During middle childhood and adolescence, interventions to directly address children's behavior problems are critical both to the well-being of mothers and to assist in the reduction in levels of behavior problems.

Social-Emotional Learning for Whom? Implications of a Universal SEL Program and Teacher Well-being for Teachers' Interactions with Students

Social-emotional learning interventions are intended to improve classroom dynamics and have the potential to enhance the well-being of students and their teachers. Using data drawn from an effectiveness trial of the Social Skills Improvement System SEL Edition Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS SEL CIP; Elliott and Gresham in SSIS SEL Edition Classwide Intervention Program manual, Pearson, Inc., 2017), the present quantitative study explored associations between classroom implementation of a universal SEL program, teachers' emotional well-being, and teacher-student interactions. The results from a sample of 80 first- and second-grade teachers located in three socioeconomically and geographically diverse regions of the USA indicated that implementation of the SSIS SEL CIP curriculum was positively associated with teachers' classroom organization skills at the end of the year. Findings also revealed an interaction between treatment condition and teacher emotional well-being such that control teachers with lower well-being also had lower quality classroom organization but this association did not exist for teachers in the intervention condition. Findings suggest that implementation of the SSIS SEL CIP may help to preserve positive teacher-student interactions even when teachers are reporting lower levels of emotional well-being.

Executive Function Mediates the Relationship Between Conscious Discipline Fidelity and Kindergarten Readiness

Conscious Discipline is a classroom management program that targets relationship building and socio-emotional learning to improve students' academic performance, as well as executive function (EF) and social skills. Past studies evaluating the effectiveness of this program, however, are limited and have yielded mixed results. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between preschool teachers' Conscious Discipline fidelity and students' kindergarten readiness and social skill development. This study included 873 preschool-aged students from 146 classrooms that used the Conscious Discipline program. We found that Conscious Discipline fidelity was significantly associated with students' EF skill gains, which in turn predicted outcomes on students' overall kindergarten readiness scores as well as their scores on evaluations of their language and literacy, math, social foundations, and physical development specifically. Results suggest that EF skill development mediates the relationship between preschool teachers' Conscious Discipline fidelity and students' kindergarten readiness scores.

Childhood Protective Factors and a Prevention Program Reduce Later Problem Behaviors

Prior research has yet to elucidate how constellations of protective factors in childhood and prevention efforts simultaneously may influence youth involvement in problem behaviors across different points in development. The current study examines how latent classes of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, parent-child relationships, and peer influences in third grade and receipt of an ongoing SEL intervention predict substance use and violence in fifth and eighth grade. The urban, predominantly low-income, sample (N = 1,169) was nested in 14 schools that were randomly assigned to the Positive Action program or business-as-usual. Membership in a latent class reflecting protective childhood factors predicted less substance use and violence in fifth grade; however, the SEL program predicted less substance use and violence in eighth grade. Findings generally support that SEL interventions can successfully target and boost developmentally appropriate positive behaviors and can prevail over initial risk factors with enough time and exposure.